The Friends of the Far North Line - Newsletter - September 2015 The Friends of the Far North Line Cairdean Na Loine Tuath the campaign group for rail north of Inverness - lobbying for improved services for the local user, tourist and freight operator Home › NEWSLETTERS - Current and Back to 1998 This is where FoFNL's work is recorded › Archives Home › Archives Home › AGM & Committee Minutes 1998 › February 1998 › June 1998 › October 1999 › February 1999 › October 2000 › September 2001 › January 2002 › February 2002 › May 2002 › October 2003 › October 2004 › September 2005 › January 2005 › June 2006 › January 2006 › September 2007 › January 2007 › June 2009 › September 2010 › May 2010 › September 2011 › May 2011 › September 20

12 › January 2012 › May 2013 › January 2014 › October 2015 › September Lentran Long Loop FoFNL Campaign for Reinstatement of Double-track FoFNL is lobbying hard for the reinstatement of the Lentran Long Loop between Inverness and Muir of Ord.

Until the section was singled in 1966 there were six miles of double track between Clachnaharry and Clunes. This part of the FNL is also part of the line to Kyle of Lochalsh and is used by trains traversing the full length of both lines as well as some shorter journeys to Ardgay or Tain. Currently 27 services use the route every day and the lack of places for North- and Southbound trains to pass each other is causing major delays and cancellations very frequently. Two of the FoFNL documents are reproduced here. The campaign has been picked up in the Inverness Courier which ran a major item on 2nd September outlining the urgency of the situation as passengers are beginning to give up on the line and revert to using their cars. Mention was made of the Inverness City/Region Deal wish list which includes the intention to spend around £100 million on reducing congestion on the A9 north of Inverness. Richard Ardern of FoFNL was quoted outlining the benefits which would accrue from the redoubling including additional services as well as much reduced late-running and train cancellation.

Rhoda Grant and David Stewart MSPs are giving the campaign vocal support and have written to the Scottish Government Transport Minister, Derek Mackay MSP, asking that funds from the Inverness City/Region Deal and the Scottish Government are used to reintroduce the Lentran loop ahead of preliminary planning for the next rail infrastructure development period, CP6, which starts on 1st April 2019. In response to a parliamentary question from David Stewart in June 2015 the Transport Minister, Derek Mackay MSP, said that the redoubling was an "interesting proposal" to improve the rail network to the far north. This is the paper submitted by FoFNL at the Highland Council meeting in Inverness on 3rd Sept 2015 for discussion under Item 11, City/Region Deal: Capacity Improvement to Far North and Kyle Railway Lines 1 This paper seeks inclusion of a project to redouble the 6 miles of track between Clachnaharry and Clunes (Kirkhill) through Lentran and thus remove the major bottleneck which has prevented the operation of more trains to the north and west of Inverness.

2 The benefits of the Lentran Loop Project would be the ability to run: A northbound commuter service at 8 am from Inverness to Dingwall and Invergordon. An afternoon northbound service at around 4pm to take students, shoppers and others home before the rush hour. The early morning train from Caithness through to Inverness without the current serious one hour delay on occasions when it is 10 or more minutes late and has to wait at Muir of Ord to pass trains going north. Additional freight and lucrative charter trains attracted by the scenic routes to Caithness and Kyle. Services from Invergordon for cruise liner passengers. 3 The need for City/Region Deal finance priming stems from the number of higher profile rail schemes which are only now starting to reach the Highlands and which have higher priority such as the Highland Main Line and Inverness-Aberdeen line capacity, speed and electrification projects. These have already been delayed and broken in to phases because Scottish Government capital budgets have been reduced and have had to be used, unexpectedly, for the new Queensferry road crossing.

4 Both Moir Lockhead CEO of First Group and (recently) Mike Carne CEO of Network Rail said, on taking over rail responsibilities, that "priority will be given to enhancements which benefit the largest number of people". 5 This is where the Highlands and Islands keep losing out. Projects go ahead in the Central Belt of Scotland. We are at the end of the queue and newer projects leap in ahead of us. 6 This sort of scenario is just what the City/Region Deal is designed to assist and it seems to us that it may be the only way in which the congestion on the railway north of Inverness may be removed. 7 There is an exact parallel with the situation on the A9 north of Inverness. To ease congestion a flyover is now being proposed for the Longman Roundabout on the A9 taking traffic over the Kessock Bridge. 8 Although the numbers using the road are greater, it is rare that road users arrive a whole hour late which is what is happening on the trains. 9 Government and Highland Council policy is to encourage greater use of sustainable, greener public transport such as the railway in order to reduce carbon emissions.

10 Without the dynamic passing loop through Lentran, the railway cannot provide the extra services detailed above. These would help support the low carbon initiatives of the Council. 11 The Lentran Loop Project would help to grow the economy and social inclusion of Inverness and the Highlands fitting in with: "The Skilled Economy" in transporting students and workers to college and work. "The Growing and Sustainable Economy" in attracting more freight traffic and tourists to the Scottish Scenic Routes. "The Enabled Economy" by improving connectivity for all, not least people travelling to Inverness to access professional services including medical appointments. 12 All three railway lines to the city of Inverness suffer from a chronic lack of capacity as they have long sections of single track with sometimes infrequent passing loops. 13 Traffic has grown substantially on the Far North Line over the past ten years with the Invernet initiatives of reopened stations (such as Beauly), extra commuting services and a fourth train each way each day between Inverness and Caithness. 14 In the past eighteen months there have been problems sustaining punctuality of these services due to the congested nature of the line. A few passengers have decided to go back to their cars because of this.

15 The situation needs to be retrieved and the line allowed to expand its valuable services. There is currently a Network Rail working party looking at the options but Network Rail is having great difficulty in advancing enhancements on the rural lines throughout Britain. 16 Helping to fund the Lentran Loop capacity and signalling scheme through the City/Regional Deal would be an appropriate use of such funds and a way to advance completion of the scheme by many years. R J Ardern Friends of the Far North Line 31 August 2015 This is a FoFNL paper designed to bring the issue of the Lentran Long Loop to the attention of MSPs and ministers: Reducing rail congestion north of Inverness The case for reinstating a loop through Lentran Scottish Parliament 18 June 2015 Question S4W-26050 David Stewart MSP. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider the construction of a length of re-doubled track at Lentran, north of Inverness, to allow for the passing of trains in order to reduce congestion and improve the rail service north of Inverness? Derek Mackay (Minister for Transport and Islands).

That is an interesting proposal, which we will of course be mindful of, as we seek to improve our rail network in the north of the country. Who would like to be stuck in their car or lorry for an hour waiting to cross the Kessock Bridge on the A9 north of Inverness? Long delays are becoming increasingly common and the Scottish Government is looking at providing a flyover at the Longman Roundabout in Inverness, the source of much of this congestion. Delays of one hour there would be unusual, but they are routinely happening on the railway line north from Inverness. Here capacity is also the problem. The railway line is single track and there is no longer any passing place for the 13 miles between Inverness and Muir of Ord. Trains are restricted to 10 mph over the Caledonian Canal swing bridge at Clachnaharry and, due also to speed restrictions over level crossings, the timetable allows 20 minutes for this short journey leg. This part of the line is operating at capacity at certain times of the day and there is no flexibility for trains that are running late.

When the 06.18 from Wick is more than 10 minutes late at Dingwall it loses its slot at Muir of Ord, and has to wait there for an hour until the trains from Inverness to Wick and to Kyle of Lochalsh have come through in the opposite direction. Instead of reaching Inverness at 10.38 it does not arrive until 11.40 and passengers miss their connections to Edinburgh and to Aberdeen. Trains have to be "flighted" like this to achieve connections at Inverness. Two services arrive from Glasgow and Aberdeen around 10.30 and the above trains are the onward connections to the north and the west. The 06.18's scheduled arrival is similarly carefully timed to make connections to Aberdeen and to Edinburgh and Glasgow. Passenger numbers on the Far North Line have been steadily increasing and more trains are running to cater for the demand. The flexibility in operating single track railways is always very limited because trains have to pass each other in strategically placed loops. What was once operationally acceptable with a lower level of traffic eventually becomes impossible to manage without greater line capacity and that is the stage the Far North Line has now reached.

It is a success story which needs investment in more loops and nowhere more so than on that initial congested section between Inverness and Muir of Ord which is shared by both the Wick and the Kyle line services. There used to be a six mile section of double track from Clachnaharry to Clunes until the 1960s. A short passing loop was left at Lentran until 1984 when it was swept away to simplify the introduction of radio signalling. The formation for the double track is still in situ except at Phopachy where a new single track bridge was built over the A862. Thus it would be quite straightforward to relay track. A new single track bridge would be needed and a 60 mph powered point and signalling at the Clunes end. While not inexpensive the cost would be a small fraction of the amount spent in re-opening Borders Rail. Because of the congestion caused by lack of line capacity there is very limited scope to run extra freight or charter trains. Both have great potential which is not able to be realised. There are masses of timber to come out of the north and the liquefied gas supplies to Caithness would be much safer on the railway.

The scenic reputation of both lines leads to a demand for lucrative charter trains which is not being met. Due to the congestion, the only charter paths are at 06.30 and 11.15 from Inverness. The 06.18 from Wick had a much longer wait than usual on 2 July when it did not arrive at Inverness until 12.07, over 90 minutes late. Although it was only some 25 minutes late at Dingwall, it presumably also had to wait at Muir of Ord for an outgoing special train of some kind as well as for the two service trains. It is difficult to imagine the substantial inconvenience to all the 51 passengers on that train. The FNL is being strangled by its own success because the extra capacity needed has not yet been supplied. Delays have become endemic and passengers have been walking away. The line is in crisis and needs investment to play its full role in providing sustainable transport and limiting some of the carbon emissions which increase as more traffic is forced on to the road. These delays are on top of the end to end timetable having been lengthened four times in the last 10 years.

It now takes almost 4 hours and 20 minutes from Inverness to Wick. In 2004 it was 3 hours 52 minutes. John Ellis, Managing Director of ScotRail, said at the 1995 conference on the future of the line that his ultimate aim was for "a three hour journey time". Why has the service been allowed to become so much slower and why is it still struggling to keep to the timetable? Yes, Minister, the much needed Lentran Loop is indeed "an interesting proposal" and it should appear in Network Rail's enhancement plans for Control Period 6. We hope that you will ensure that it forms part of the HLOS in due course. The Borders and the Central Belt have benefited from large railway expenditure in recent years: it's surely the turn of the more distant Highlands now. Signal Boxes by Historic Environment Scotland - issuu issuu Signal Boxes Buildings Of all the buildings developed specifically for the railways, the signal box holds a special place as one of the most instantly recognisable and loved. The sight of a signal box can transport us back to the romance of the by­gone era of steam travel.

Located at the trackside, they are as unmistakable in the landscape as lighthouses or red telephone boxes. As signal boxes come to an end of their functional journey because of changes to signalling technology, it is a good time to take a look at their history and to celebrate some of Scotland’s best examples. There are around forty signal boxes recognised through listing in Scotland. These buildings cover all the major 2 surviving Scottish designs and are valued for the contribution they make to our wider railway heritage and history. The signal boxes date from the 1870s right through to the era of post-war nationalisation and the creation of British Rail in the 1950s. Some are special because they are a particularly interesting design or are an exceptionally rare survival of a specific design, others are significant as they form an important part of a group of station buildings. In recent years, new and imaginative uses have been found for a number of signal boxes including a railway heritage centre, an office, a coffee shop, an artist’s studio, a waiting room and a nature observatory. A handful of operational boxes are found on Scotland’s preserved railway lines, which are open to the public and managed by enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteers.

The form of the signal box is very closely linked to its function: through its mechanical equipment it ensures the safe and efficient passage of trains through a station or a railway junction. There are, however, a surprising and delightful number of variations. Many signal boxes have decorative details not essential to their function and they have highly polished levers, instruments and other surfaces. Some interiors have been immaculately maintained by long-serving signalmen. On quieter railway lines some look like miniature libraries with shelves of books to help while away the solitary time between trains, while others have even doubled as greenhouses with shelves full of seedlings Signal boxes are usually two-level structures with a glazed upper section as the operating floor and a room below which houses the interlocking mechanism, the signal wire wheels and the point drive cranks. The key piece of equipment – the lever frame – works the points on the track where rails intersect, as well as a series of ‘stop and go’ semaphore or, more recently, coloured light signals to be observed and acted upon by train drivers. The levers are mechanically interlocked against each other to provide safe and seamless operation by the signalman who can also observe the position of the trains through the windows of the signal box.

That these buildings have continued to operate, relatively unchanged, for well over one hundred years is testament to the success of the basic design. above Semaphore signals beside the Boat of Garten North signal box below Installed in 1891 and set a considerable distance apart, the two timber boxes at Nairn Station on the Moray coast were previously manned by a lone duty signaller based in the station office who cycled between them on a bicycle provided by the rail company. opposite Levers at Stirling Middle signal box 3 ©Science and Society Photo Library, National Railway Museum / Science & Society Picture Library Ambitious Beginnings 4 From its outset in the 1820s, the public railway network expanded at an incredible pace and by the mid-nineteenth century more than sixty local railway companies had sprung up across Scotland. These were gradually amalgamated into five main companies that controlled the majority of Scotland’s railway network from the 1850s through to 1923.

These five companies (and the areas they covered) were the Caledonian Railway (West and Central); the Highland Railway (North of Perth / Inverness); the Glasgow and South Western Railway (South West and Galloway); the Great North of Scotland Railway (Aberdeenshire and Moray Coast); and the North British Railway (Tayside, Fife and Borders). An increasing amount of traffic meant that much more signalling was required to ensure safety. By 1860, advances in mechanical signalling allowed levers to be positioned further away from the trackside and the pointsman’s hut was replaced by the signal box as we know it, with timber-boarded sides, deep eaves, hipped roofs and large sliding sash and case windows. The mechanics of interlocking between points and signals developed briskly. In 1870, James Deakin of Stevens & Son invented the ‘tappet’ system. The majority of lever frames that survive in Scotland are made by this company and make use of this system. Remarkably, by the end of the Second World War there were more than two thousand signal boxes in operation at stations, halts and junctions across Scotland.

Box Designs While the five main Scottish rail companies had a range of signal box designs of their own, they also made use of tried and tested designs by leading signalling manufacturers of the day such as Stevens & Sons and McKenzie & Holland. The various box designs, or types (as they are known), could be tailored in height, length and in various other ways to suit their location. Dutton & Company, for example, were wellknown contractors supplying innovative and attractive buildings to the railway companies. This firm was contracted by the Highland Railway to build all the signal boxes between Invergordon and Georgemas in Caithness. Examples of this early design can still be found at Helmsdale and Rogart. A feature of the Dutton box is the decorative moulding in the gables, distinguishing them from the similar McKenzie & Holland boxes which were used at stations further south on the Highland Railway including Boat of Garten North and Aviemore. The North British Railway company designed signal boxes in-house to complement stations built in 1894 on the famous West Highland line by James Miller, a renowned Glasgow architect who specialised in railway stations. Some of these signal boxes were physically joined by a linking wall to the station buildings, which were designed in a Swiss Chalet style.

Important examples can be found at Bridge of Orchy, Garelochhead, Rannoch and Tyndrum stations. With shallow hipped roofs and deep-bracketed eaves, the simple, single storey form of these signal boxes makes them look rather like waiting rooms and indeed some are now used for that purpose. Each listed signal box has its own story and interest. They are reminders of the golden age of rail travel and contribute to our appreciation and understanding of the history of the railway and its significant place in Scotland’s rich heritage. opposite top Mid-nineteenth century engraving of a section through a signal box opposite bottom Late nineteenth century Caledonian Railway advertisement left North British Railway signal box beside the station at Upper Tyndrum 5 Boat of Garten South While the former railway line between Aviemore and Forres in the Highlands is no longer part of the National Rail network, the Strathspey Railway run steam trains on the heritage railway line between Aviemore and Broomhill. The intermediate restored station at Boat of Garten retains two fully operational signal boxes. The south box with its panelled brick base and intact interior is a fine example of the Highland Railway design, which became a standard type for that particular railway company.

The box to the north of the station, by the McKenzie & Holland company of railway contractors, is illustrated on the front cover of this booklet. 6 Biggar Some disused signal boxes have been converted for use as residential â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;boltholesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, summerhouses or, in one case, offices for a local business. Biggar Station was built by the Caledonian Railway company in 1859 and was enlarged in 1906 to coincide with the Royal Highland Show which was held in Peebles that year. A larger signal box was added and, while it no longer retains its internal equipment, it survives in excellent condition externally due to its conversion as an office for a local company. It is one of only four surviving examples of the signature Caledonian Railway company signal box with ornate timber brackets around windows and eaves. Aberdour In the 1870s it was agreed that a railway bridge should be built across the Firth of Forth to provide a direct rail service between Edinburgh and the north.

The line, built by the North British Railway, hugged the scenic Fife coastline and Aberdour Station, which opened in 1890, became the destination for tourists and day-trippers, who flocked to the picturesque seaside village. Its signal box remained in operation until 1981 when multiple aspect colour light signalling controlled from the new signalling centre in Edinburgh was brought into use. Using the same red sandstone as the Aberdour Station building, it is a rare surviving example of a completely stone-built signal box in Scotland. 7 Talk:United Kingdom railways - OpenStreetMap Wiki Talk:United Kingdom railways 6.1 Old stations Progress Anyone got any ideas on a good way to structure the progress box, now we've got some data for it? Gagravarr 00:03, 5 October 2006 (BST) Could be divided up by 'sector' (South-East, InterCity, regional, Scotland), or by train operating company, or by Network Rail region (the first two necessitate some overlap). -- Richard 08:07, 6 October 2006 (BST) Overlap is probably best avoided.

How easy is it to work out what network rail region something is in? Gagravarr 11:11, 6 October 2006 (BST) This is probably the best reference. Bizarrely it has a few more divisions but that's probably fairly immaterial - we could use those instead. -- Richard 12:06, 6 October 2006 (BST) It'd be good to find a slightly higher resolution version, since that one's a bit hard to read, but it does look like a fairly good division. Gagravarr 14:39, 6 October 2006 (BST) Actually, come to think of it, the 'Big Four' are the obvious dividers! (LMS/LNWR/GWR/Southern) -- Richard 14:47, 6 October 2006 (BST) Tags Single Track Is there a way of tagging single (or indeed multiple) tracks similar to lanes for highways?

Silverfish 08:33, 28 March 2007 (BST) I've seen things with railway=rail,tracks=1 (two tags!) and railway=rail,tracks=6 in places before, so that would appear to be the un-official method Gagravarr 09:39, 28 March 2007 (BST) Big stations How should we map really big railway stations? Having an individual node is fine for a country halt, but larger terminus stations don't look right as little red dots on the map. I suggest railway=station on an area. Welshie 14:49, 24 November 2006 (UTC) This is a big delay before an answer, so possibly you already know this now - but individual platforms, buildings and so on can all be added as ways, then grouped together using a relation. See Cardiff Central or Bristol Temple Meads for a good idea of what this implies. A node is still needed though, otherwise there's nothing to add to any train route relations! -- CunningPlan What's on your mind?

12:13, 4 November 2009 (UTC) Errors I'm not sure about part of the Chiltern Line from Aylesbury to High Wycombe. Was it transposed from a map? My GPS track of a road running next to the railway line is some distance from the railway line on OSM. I guess the line should be checked with GPS. Silverfish 19:41, 23 March 2007 (UTC) To confirm, its definitely wrong. I've moved a small section of it in Aylesbury, as I've mapped the roads either side of the railway. I'll see if I can map the rail routes in a few weeks time. Silverfish 05:50, 26 March 2007 (BST) Any progress on this? BTW Someone's marked Aylesbury Parkway..

ShakespeareFan00 18:53, 12 June 2008 (UTC) OpenRailMap To avoid project duplication, I suggest people here also look at the UK subpage of OpenRailMap, User:ShakespeareFan00/OpenRailMap/UK It would be appreciated if a merger of the two pages was considered. Thanks ShakespeareFan00 14:32, 18 April 2008 (UTC) Lines in North Wales... Have traced : Rough line of Welsh Highland South of currently open portion nearly to Porthmadog, (NB This is from a very faint line in the NPE, so it needs a GPS or arieals as confirmation Welshpool and LLanfair : From NPE - Needs intermediate stations which aren't marked on NPE and confirmation that I've marked as the current end of line is that) Tal-Y-llyn Railway: from NPE (and Adlestorp to confirm some names)..- NE END I am a little uncertain of. Fairbourne and Barmouth Steam Railway.. - Marked as thin line on NPE, Trace is a bit uncertain, as are the stations...

ShakespeareFan00 02:15, 22 April 2008 (UTC) What needs doing? Hi, I spend quite a lot of time travelling on trains, and I would be happy to map things for OSM while travelling. However I don't quite understand what is required. The vast majority of rail lines seem to be on the map. Are these rough tracings that need to be improved with GPX tracklogs, or is most of the UK rail network sorted? If tracklogs aren't needed, do you need people to get waypoints for marking features? Just how much detail is intended to be put on these maps - for example would we mark any of the following - viaducts, signalboxes, level crossings, major junctions, freight yards, loco depots, platforms(rather than just stations)? Hopefully someone will read and reply to this.

Regards, Jonathan Jonathanp 00:16, 18 May 2008 (UTC) Basicly record evryething , Although not down to the level of indvidual sleepers :) ShakespeareFan00 18:51, 12 June 2008 (UTC) Preserved lines Have merged in my notes on Preserved lines :) ShakespeareFan00 00:08, 29 March 2009 (UTC) Engineer's line references Following this discussion on the OSM forum: Some ideas about how to tag Engineer's line references. Basically just about every section of track in Britain has them, they are a unique code that can refer to particular line or a point on that line. They are often displayed on signs on bridges etc. See or So how should they be tagged? Should it be a tag on the railway line, or on the bridge? Something like bridge_ref? -- Vclaw 17:18, 29 March 2009 (UTC) Well firstly how was the Wikipedia or linked site's data obtained?

ShakespeareFan00 14:00, 30 March 2009 (UTC) The bridge references that I've seen whilst out surveying I've put on a bridge relation (to make it clear that it refers to the bridge and not the highway crossing the railway or the railway itself. Many of the bridges I've seen also have an information panel stating a name for the bridge / description of the location (sometimes the name of the road it crosses) together with the operator and their phone number in case the bridge is struck. I also add the maxheight =* if that info is visible. -- Gregoryw 19:05, 30 March 2009 (UTC) Railway lines with stations extracted from the database Aberdeen and Inverness Line "High Street Kensington" Colours (Why are colours being added to data. This is tagging for the renderer which is not desirable. These objects dont have a "colour". The colour for rendering should be up to the person producing the render based upon the factual data of the object.

blackadder 18:21, 6 November 2009 (UTC)) This is looking cool, but you absolutely shouldn't be including colour information in here. That's mixing rendering and data. The OSM database is for data alone. If someone designing a rendering wants to know what the corporate colours are for a given TOC, they should look it up on Wikipedia or similar freeform reference work - not OSM, which is for geographic data only. -- Richard 18:28, 6 November 2009 (UTC) I added this to the table after noting that many services already have this tag - and at least for services where a specific colour exists for that particular service as opposed to the operator, it seems to make a lot of sense. I agree that the case for including operator colours is less definite, but that's why there's this talk page. Initially I was updating the table to document what already exists, as it was woefully out of date. It then occurred to me that the colours seen in (for example) Cardiff and Birmingham areas should also be noted, hence the colour column. -- CunningPlan What's on your mind?

18:52, 6 November 2009 (UTC) But where do these colours exits on the ground? blackadder I have commented the offending section out, and put a note on the page to direct people here. Hopefully we can have a proper discussion about it rather than simply revert and ignore each other. Apologies if my replies seem a bit slow, my internet connection is playing up. As to where they exist on the ground, in the case of colours for a particular service/route (what OSM calls relation=route, type=train), numerous posters and signs. In this respect I was documenting what is already in use: Look at the color tags on trains north of Cardiff or through Birmingham if you like, I did not add them. Like I say, the case for TOC-specific colours is less strong, but that for service/route-specific colours is significant. -- CunningPlan What's on your mind? 19:46, 6 November 2009 (UTC) I think you need to differentiate between colours used incidentally, and colours widely recognised to have a strong association with that line.

I can almost see a small case for tagging the (London) Circle Line with tfl:colour=yellow, for example. Certain parts of the signage, and some tilework, are consistently in that colour, have been for many years, and consequently people use it to navigate. Tagging it with an unnamespaced 'colour' does not provide any context - it might just as well be talking about the colour of the rails! (That said TfL's lawyers will come after our collective ass if you take their colours and put them in OSM. Believe me, I've encountered them before.) But there is absolutely no way that, say, the Cross-City Line should be tagged in (say) blue just because some 1990-vintage maps that happen to be hanging round in a few knackered old 150s and 323s showed it in blue. You go to 100 people at Birmingham New Street and say "can you tell me when the next blue line train is, please?". I guarantee that not a single one of them will have the faintest idea what you're on about. Note also that OSM's lingua franca is British English.

'color' is just wrong. -- Richard 11:34, 8 November 2009 (UTC) (unindent) There is something in what you are saying, but the 'unnamespaced' tag is not an issue - it is in a relation, and therefore related to the route/service (whatever you prefer to call it) and not the physical infrastructure it runs on. Either way, I repeat, I was documenting what exists, not making non-consensus suggestions. The fact that these color tags exist and have not been reverted means there is some community support for them, right? -- CunningPlan What's on your mind?

11:50, 28 November 2009 (UTC) The Friends of the Far North Line - Newsletter - April 2014 The Friends of the Far North Line Cairdean Na Loine Tuath the campaign group for rail north of Inverness - lobbying for improved services for the local user, tourist and freight operator Home › NEWSLETTERS - Current and Back to 1998 This is where FoFNL's work is recorded › Archives Home › Archives Home › AGM & Committee Minutes 1998 › February 1998 › June 1998 › October 1999 › February 1999 › October 2000 › September 2001 › January 2002 › February 2002 › May 2002 › October 2003 › October 2004 › September 2005 › January 2005 › June 2006 › January 2006 › September 2007 › January 2007 › June 2009 › September 2010 › May 2010 ›

 September 2011 › May 2011 › September 2012 › January 2012 › May 2013 › January 2014 › October 2015 › September ‹ Back Yestermonths in Parliament Question S4W-18301: Liz Smith, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 12/11/2013 To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the protection of the route of the former railway line between Inverkeithing and Perth.

Answered by Keith Brown (20/11/2013): The responsibility for this matter lies with the relevant planning authorities, namely Fife Council and Perth and Kinross Council, rather than the Scottish Government. Scottish Planning Policy clearly states that disused railway lines with a reasonable prospect of being reused as rail, tram or active travel routes should be safeguarded in development plans. Following representations, and examination of the Perth and Kinross Council Local Development Plan, the Reporter has concluded that the Council's development policy in respect of public access should be amended to refuse any development proposals that would have an adverse impact upon the integrity of any disused railway, unless adverse impacts are adequately addressed in the plans and suitable alternative provision is made. However, the Scottish Government has no plans or studies currently considering re-opening the former railway line between Inverkeithing and Perth.

(Then on 3rd March, Transform Scotland launched its Inter-City Express campaign; see below.) Question S4W-18410: David Stewart, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 15/11/2013 To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale is for the electrification of railway services between Inverness and (a) Dunkeld and (b) Aberdeen. Answered by Keith Brown (28/11/2013): No timescale has yet been identified for the electrification of rail services between Inverness and Dunkeld, and Inverness and Aberdeen. These routes will be considered as part of a wider strategy for future electrification. (David Stewart tried again four months later. See paragraph below.) Question S4W-18411: David Stewart, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 15/11/2013 To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale is for the completion of Dalcross railway station.

Answered by Keith Brown (29/11/2013): The reopening of Dalcross railway station currently forms part of phase one of the Aberdeen to Inverness rail improvements project, which will be delivered between 2014 and 2019. To assist in the delivery of the new station, Network Rail will work with station promoters to ensure that the community's needs are met and that third-party funding for the station has been secured to complete phase one by 2019. Rail Network (Upgrading) [First Minister's Questions, 6 March 2014] Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the calls from Transform Scotland to upgrade the rail network. The First Minister (Alex Salmond): The £5 billion package of funding and investment for our railways in 2019, which represents a figure per head of population that is twice the United Kingdom Government's figure, will support improvements to infrastructure and services across the network. That will benefit freight and passengers alike.

The investment will enable substantial improvements to the Highland main line and the Aberdeen to Inverness line, for example, including improvements on the route between Aberdeen and Inverness that aim to deliver an hourly service, a two-hour journey time and enhanced commuter services to both cities and which will enable the opening of new stations at Kintore in Aberdeenshire and Dalcross, which is near Inverness airport. Liz Smith: Everybody welcomes the changes to the infrastructure, but I will ask the First Minister about the pledge that he made in August 2008, when he said that the Scottish Government would reduce the journey time on the Edinburgh to Inverness rail route by 35 minutes by 2012. Two years on, when will that pledge be met? The First Minister: I just read out to Liz Smith the investment profile for Inverness and Aberdeen. I am glad that she welcomes what is being done, because there are substantial improvements. For example, there is a 33 per cent rise in passenger numbers, 26.5 miles of new railway line and an investment programme that is twice that of the UK Government.

I know that, in her normal cheery way, Liz Smith will see that as progress. I undertake to see that progress continue in the rail network in Scotland. (As we can see, the First Minister ignored Inter-City Express. Liz Smith proposes to take it further in writing; we hope to report on the outcome in the next FNE. We assume that the 26.5 miles of new railway referred to is the Borders railway between Newcraighall and Tweedbank but this is quite a long way from the routes mentioned in the question.) Question S4W-20156: David Stewart, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 12/03/2014 To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) budget and (b) timeframe is for completion of improvements to the (i) Highland Main Line and (ii) Inverness to Aberdeen line.

Answered by Keith Brown (26/03/2014): Phase 1 of the Aberdeen to Inverness line improvements, which includes the new stations at Dalcross and Kintore and phase 2 of improvements on the Highland Main Line are fully funded within the Office of Rail Regulations (ORR) overall regulatory determination for Control Period 5 (2014-19) and will be delivered by Network Rail by March 2019. Future phases of the Highland Main Line project will be delivered in subsequent control periods to 2025 and future phases of Aberdeen to Inverness by 2030. Associated funding requirements will be determined by the ORR. Question S4W-20157: David Stewart, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 12/03/2014 To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is on electrification of the (a) Inverness to Aberdeen and (b) Inverness to Glasgow/Edinburgh railway lines.

Answered by Keith Brown (26/03/2014): We recognise that there have been decades of underinvestment in Scotland's transport infrastructure, as was recently confirmed by the UK Secretary of State for Transport. This Scottish Government has invested over £9.5 billion in transport since 2007, and is committed to a further £5 billion investment programme in rail infrastructure and services between 2014 and 2019. This includes an estimated £200 million rolling programme of investment in network electrification beyond that committed as part of Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme. This Government recognises the economic and environmental benefits of electrifying our rail network. We are working with the rail industry to develop a strategy and identify our priorities for future phases of electrification beyond the current committed schemes identified in Control Period 5 (2014-19). All non-electrified routes will be considered as part of the strategy to determine the optimal way forward for electrifying the rest of the network.

Question: The first stations on the three railway lines out of which Scottish city are Beauly, Carrbridge and Nairn?
Answer: INVERNESS